Sermons, ramblings, and maybe an occasional rant from a Lutheran subject of Jesus Christ.

Wednesday, December 3, 2014

Sermon -- Advent Vespers, Week 1 (December 3, 2014)

LUKE 1:46-52

MY SOUL MAGNIFIES THE LORD.

He Raises Up The Lowly.

In
the name + of Jesus.

A young peasant girl from Nazareth
was going about her humble life, but things were about to change. You see, she had been betrothed to a man in
the same city named Joseph. Mary was
soon to leave her parents’ home and make a new home with her betrothed
Joseph. If Mary was following the same
cultural practice of her day, she was likely in her mid to late teens. She would be vaulted quickly from childhood
to adulthood by her marriage. Things
were going to change a lot for this young, peasant girl.

But the angel Gabriel was sent to Mary to let her know that her life was
about to change in a far more drastic way.
He said to her, “Behold, you will
conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus.” (Luke
1:31) Before she could even enjoy
the wedding feast, consummate her marriage with her husband, and settle into
the routine of married life, Mary learned that she had conceived a boy in her
womb.

The Lord had not sent Gabriel to seek volunteers or to week through
potential candidates for this task. God
chose Mary. Gabriel appeared to her and
announced to her, “Do not be afraid,
Mary, for you have found favor with God.
And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall
call his name Jesus.” (Luke 1:30-31)

Mary reacted two times to this news.
The first was in that room in Nazareth:
“Behold, I am the servant of the Lord;
let it be to me according to your word.” (Luke 1:38) The second reaction was a number of days
later in the hill country of Judea. There, in the presence of Elizabeth, Mary broke out in song. And Mary said,
“Mysoulmagnifies the Lord, and myspirit rejoices inGod my Savior, forhe has looked on the humble estate of his servant. For behold, from now on all generationswill call me
blessed; forhe who is mightyhas done great
things for me, andholy is his name.” (Luke 1:46-49)

You can make a
strong argument that Mary’s lowly estate took a few steps down. After all, Mary had not asked
for this. Mary had not asked to be the object
of gossip and slander among the residents of Nazareth.
Mary had not asked to have her reputation sullied before her parents or
her betrothed. Mary did not want to be
the subject of a legal debate about whether or not she should be stoned to
death for adultery. This was a lot to
put on a teenage girl. We would not have been surprised
if Mary had broken down in tears at Elizabeth’s
doorstep. Or perhaps that
she would have broken out in a rage. Mary’s
voice did not cry out with anguish or with anger. Mary broke out in a song of praise and joy.

Mary’s joy was not because she felt like she had finally earned some
reward from God for being noble and humble.
Mary acknowledged her lowly estate, which is no different and no worse
than yours or mine. We are all sinful
beings. We are victims of gossip and
slander. Our reputations are
sullied. But then we also victimize and
sully others with our sins. Our lowly
estate is our own doing. All have
sinned. All are low. In addition to this, we also face the pains,
sorrows, and disappointments of life.
Finally, we will die. You might
want to cry out, “I did not ask for all this.”
Nevertheless, God has you endure it.
It is the price of sinful rebellion.
There is nothing about it that God should honor or pity. But God also has you endure it because it leads
you to recognize your lowly estate, to repent of your sin, and to long for a
Savior.

Mary does not out in anger or in anguish. Mary rejoices because God has not despise us
in our lowly estate. She sings, “My spirit rejoices in God my Savior.” (Luke
1:47) My soul magnifies the Lord,
because he raises up the lowly. To raise
us up from our lowly estate, Jesus humbled himself to our lowly estate. God Almighty took on weak and frail flesh. God, who had good reason to despise and
disown us, because God with us. He submitted
himself to the hatred and scorn of Pharisees, to the mockery and brutality of
Roman soldiers, to his reputation being sullied by false witnesses, to being condemned
because of trumped up charges and popular demand. They crucified him despite the lack of any
evidence against him. Jesus knows what
it is to be victimized by sin and shame.

Nevertheless, Jesus submitted himself to such humiliation and shame in
order to deliver us from our lowly and wretched estate. He exposed his back to the scourge. He put his shoulder under the cross. He stepped beneath God’s curse. All the while, Jesus did not cry out, “I
didn’t ask for this!” Instead, he sought
this. He came from heaven to earth to be
born for this. Mary sang, “My soul rejoices in God, my Savior.” (Luke
1:47) He is your Savior, too. He rescues you from the depths of death and
despair. He removes all your disgrace. My soul magnifies the Lord because he raises
up the lowly.

Mary’s song continued: “He has shown strength with his arm; he has
scattered the proud in the thoughts of their hearts; he has brought down the mighty from their thrones and
exalted those of humble estate…” (Luke 1:51-52) God showed
the strength of his arm by working salvation for us. Nevertheless, we still like to flex our own
muscles. We like propping ourselves up
and claiming to be better than we are.
It is usually at the expense of someone else. We are proud in the thoughts of our hearts,
crediting ourselves for how good we are…or meant to be. And we assume that even God is in agreement
with us. Mary’s song warns us against
such self-praise. Those who exalt themselves do not want mercy,
but bragging rights. The Lord has
nothing for those who exalt themselves.
He scatters the proud and casts down those who prop themselves up.

Do not try to find ways to
convince God that you are better than you are.
It takes too much energy, and God knows it is a lie anyway. In the same way, you do not have to invent
ways to humble yourself. The Lord has
taught you simply to acknowledge yourself for what you are—lowly, sinful, and
fully dependent upon God’s mercy.
Therefore, you confess: I am by nature sinful. I have done what is evil, and I have failed
to do what is good. God have mercy on
me, a poor, sinful being. It is
honest, and it is true.

A broken and contrite heart God does not
despise. That is why you can sing along
with Mary, “Mysoulmagnifies the Lord, and myspirit rejoices inGod my Savior, forhe has looked on the humble estate of his servant. For behold, …he has … exalted those of
humble estate…” (Luke 1:46-48,52) The Lord your God has been pleased to raise
you up from your lowly estate, and he has changed your title, “sinner,”
to a title that is greater than any other title in the world. Now, you are children of the Most High
God.

This has been a drastic change to your
life and to your future. Jesus has saved
you from the depths of hell and the grave.
Jesus has removed every sin and all shame from you. You are no longer sullied, but saved. Though you may still appear lowly to those
who are in this world, the Lord has exalted you greatly. You are heirs of heavenly glory in his
everlasting kingdom. Even anger and
anguish shall be turned into joy. And it
is why Mary and the Church rejoice and sing.

In the name of the Father and of the Son +
and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.